Are you frugal or cheap?

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Are you frugal or are you cheap? And how do you define each one?

For me I think I am frugal (I like to stretch my money in lots of ways) but I don't think I am cheap (I don't wash out baggies or reuse paper towels)

To me frugal is being smart with your money and cheap is being afraid of wasting any money.

What are your thoughts?

[cutenirish]

I'd say frugal here. I also like to get the most for my money whenever possible! I've always been that way- but in the past DH and I've jumped off the deep end and spend lots stilling getting best price (cars ect). :) We've gotten smarter :) CVS is the best thing I've even started doing LOL

[esperanza]

I think that it's all relative. Some people would call me cheap and some people would call me frugal. I consider myself somewhere in the middle. I think that you'll get few people calling themselves cheap. It's a dirty word.

[Kristen.C]

To me being frugal is spending your money in an economical way to maximize its value, or to get the best value.

The word cheap to me has always had a negative connotation and I see it more as being stingy, or buying things that are of an extremely lower quality just because they are less expensive without any second thought.


Examples seem to help me explain my thoughts better. Here are a few that I thought of:

Frugal: Buying toilet paper on sale and then making sure that you do not use more than you need.
Cheap: Buying 2-ply toilet paper on sale and then separating the layers so you now have 2 rolls of 1-ply toilet paper.

Frugal: Buying a different brand of laundry detergent than your family normally uses because it is on sale.
Cheap: Buying laundry detergent that is on sale knowing full well that it makes your whole family itch.

Frugal: Keeping a few extra packets of fast-food ketchup in your cabinet in case you run out.
Cheap: Stocking up on fast food ketchup packets so that you never have to buy ketchup.

[cutenirish]

Frugal: Buying toilet paper on sale and then making sure that you do not use more than you need.
Cheap: Buying 2-ply toilet paper on sale and then separating the layers so you now have 2 rolls of 1-ply toilet paper.

Frugal: Buying a different brand of laundry detergent than your family normally uses because it is on sale.
Cheap: Buying laundry detergent that is on sale knowing full well that it makes your whole family itch.

Frugal: Keeping a few extra packets of fast-food ketchup in your cabinet in case you run out.
Cheap: Stocking up on fast food ketchup packets so that you never have to buy ketchup.

GREAT EXPLAINATION!

[tracysbeans]

Frugal: Keeping a few extra packets of fast-food ketchup in your cabinet in case you run out.
Cheap: Stocking up on fast food ketchup packets so that you never have to buy ketchup.

I was ALL about frugal until your last one! I also stock up on napkins from fast food restraunts too. (they always seem to give me 3-4 napkins in my bag and I only use one so that leaves me 2-3 extras to use later on. Saves me having to also by papertowels too

So I guess I can be both :Emb:

[cutenirish]

I was ALL about frugal until your last one! I also stock up on nakins from fast food restraunts too. (they always seem to give me 3-4 napkins in my bag and I only use one so that leaves me 2-3 extras to use later on. Saves me having to also by papertowels too

So I guess I can be both :Emb:

I figure if i touch the napkins i grabbed or they stuffed in my bag i'm keeping them! i've not bought napkins in years cause I just save the leftovers. I don't think that's cheap cause i wouldn't want the places reloading napkins that wheren't use but had been touched by other customers KWIM

[queenofthehivemomof5]

LOL tracy. See I don't go out of my way to take extra ketchups or napkins from a fast food restraunt, but if they give me 10 and I only use 7 then the 3 extras are slipped in my purse or glove box.

What are some other example of frugal vs. cheap? I loved the examples given by Kristin.C

Off the top of my head

Frugal: Buys paper towels as cheap as she can
Cheap: buys paper towels as cheap as she can and rinses them, hangs them all over the kitchen to dry and reusues them (to me that is insane LOL)

[MOM2SNOX]

I'm a little of both!

[tracysbeans]

i wouldn't want the places reloading napkins that wheren't use but had been touched by other customers KWIM

Oh that's my reason too

However the restraunts made me get extra ketchup because everytime I was going to McDonalds they never give it unless you ask for it and I was ALWAYS forgetting. So now I try to grab some asap so I don't forget. After doing that for awhile now I have a ton of it.

McDonalds can give me 3-5 napkins BUT they can't give me 1 ketchup packet UNLESS I remember to ask. I'm really suprised how many napkins I usually get in my bag. I kinda thing they shouldn't be adding in that many. I'll accept them though :Nod: